India, Dec. 1 -- Amid a renewal of relations between India and Canada, provincial governments are attempting to leverage the opportunity for trade presented by the momentum in bilateral ties. Premiers of Canada's provincial governments are looking at leveraging the thaw marked by the announcement by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Mark Carney on the margins of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg in November that negotiations will begin towards a comprehensive economic partnership agreement or CEPA. India's high commissioner to Ottawa Dinesh Patnaik said he sensed provincial leaders were "excited" at the chance provided by the fresh impetus in the bilateral domain. Patnaik completed a visit to Western Canada on Saturday, which spanned the provinces of British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta. His meeting with British Columbia Premier David Eby on Friday was focused on discussing "ways to strengthen bilateral relations and deepen cooperation across key business sectors such as mining, technology, energy, clean tech, and education," a post from India's High Commission noted. Earlier last week he met with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Following the meeting, she posted on X, "We discussed Alberta's role in helping meet India's growing needs for safe, reliable energy, high quality agricultural products, as well as new opportunities in technology. With a strong Indo-Canadian community here at home and Indian companies already investing in Alberta, there is huge potential ahead. Our message is simple Alberta is open for business and ready to be a long term partner in India's growth." Patnaik then met with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who stated the looked at "how Canada and India can move forward on energy and food security for our two nations." In February 2024, Moe was the first provincial leader to visit India even after relations cratered following the statement by then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the House of Commons that there were "credible allegations" of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, three months earlier. India had described those accusations as "absurd" and "motivated." This November, he also met external affairs minister S Jaishankar who was attending the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the Niagara region. The role he played in keeping relations active was recognised in a column in the Globe and Mail last week, which noted, "Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe had a major hand in repairing Canada's relationship with India because of his government's behind-the-scenes efforts to strengthen business ties between the two Commonwealth countries - even when the antipathy between Ottawa and New Delhi hit new lows." But days prior to Moe's visit to India in February 2024, Ontario's Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Victor Fedeli led a "sales mission" there, the first Canadian official to try and break the ice. Fedeli was back in India in November, heading a delegation, and his meetings included one with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. After their meeting, Goyal posted on X, "Our discussions focused on strengthening Indo-Canadian trade, enhancing investment opportunities, and deepening collaboration across various sectors."...